Nat Fleisher's #1 Fighters by Weight Division

[Obama]

Nat Fleisher's #1 Rated Fighters (1958)

Heavyweight – Jack Johnson
Light Heavyweight – Charles Kid McCoy
Middleweight – Stanley Ketchel
Welterweight – Joe Walcott
Lightweight – Joe Gans
Featherweight – Terry McGovern
Bantamweight – George Dixon
Flyweight – Jimmy Wilde

I'd say the weirdest choice is "The Real McCoy". His career was one of legend however. He never won the Light Heavyweight title. In fact, he was a natural Middleweight and won the Middleweight title (although never defended it). However, he did happen to fight a lot of the top Heavyweights of his day. He defeated Joe Choynski, Gus Ruhlin and Peter Maher. He lost to Tom Sharkey and Jim Corbett, with the Corbett bout thought to being a fix. From my understanding, from that point on writers would question whether or not "the real McCoy" was showing up to fight.

I'd like to know more about the guy. I'd like to know why Fleisher rated him the greatest of a weight division he never did anything in... Actually, the one time he challenged for the LHW title, he was defeated handily. Very interesting...

[glidesmack]

it's an interesting list. I've heard a lot bad things about that list, but I know enough about some of those fighters to know it's not completely nuts. wylde and walcott were supposed to be real old fashioned monsters, walcott fighting absurdly bigger men.

[Southpaw16BF]

Charles ''Kid'' McCoy was one hell of a fighter, his straight right hand was a scary punch, he often delivered with his famous carkscrew twist, which knocked out alot of welterweights, Midllweights, and Lightheavy weights of his era.

His best KO and one of his best wins ever is when he knocked out the brillant Tommy Ryan, in March 1896, when stopping him in the 15th round to lay claim to the undisputed Middlweight Title.

McCoy one had a run of 12 straight KO victories from 1897 to 1898. One LHW who McCoy cound't KO do was Jack Root, who beat him on a points decision, in what is generally regarded as being for the LHW Title in Detroit April 1903.

But belive me, McCoy wasn't just all punch, he was a evoled boxer a tacticain. He was quick and slippey, and had fast hands and his pucnhers were so hard and crisp. At his peak, he was able to handle bigger and stronger men with ease.

Many historians rate McCoy among the greatest fighters in boxing history.

He ended up going to jail for killing a lady friend, served seven years in prison, and eventually committed suicide.

[Southpaw16BF]

Pictures of McCoy........

[Obama]

His life ended quite depressingly...

[Yogi]

He never won the Light Heavyweight title.

Some will debate that, as there is documentation from those days of a light heavyweight division and championship fights (and thus, a champion...i.e. Joe Choynski) going back a number of years before Jack Root held a claim to it, and for one, Herb Goldman listed the lineage starting from Choynski to McCoy to Root to Gardner, etc., when he put together the Ring Record Books.

[GJC]

His best KO and one of his best wins ever is when he knocked out the brillant Tommy Ryan, in March 1896, when stopping him in the 15th round to lay claim to the undisputed Middlweight Title.

He used to be a sparring partner for Ryan. McCoy apparently told Ryan he was no no condition for the fight and doubted whether he could last more than a few rounds with Ryan. Some accounts say he even cited that he was suffering from consumption. Ryan didn't train for the fight and so took a fearful beating. McCoy had the needle to Ryan as Ryan used to practise fouls on McCoy when sparring.
In another fight McCoy wore stage makeup to look 'ill.
He was known to throw fights and foul dreadfully as well as often feign illness so the boxers of the day never really knew if they were fighting the real McCoy.

[Southpaw16BF]

Charles (Kid) McCoy was a clever and popular fighter at the turn of the century. He is credited with inventing the corkscrew punch, which was thrown while rotating the fist.



It is also believed that the term, "The Real McCoy" evolved into the usage of the English language because of him. To gain a psychological advantage over his opponents, McCoy feigned illness before several bouts or he would spread the word to the media that he neglected training. On fight night, much to the surprise of the press and his opponents, McCoy was usually fit and ready to fight. Thus, reporters often asked, "Is this the real McCoy?"



In 1896, McCoy knocked out welterweight champion Tommy Ryan won by disqualification over former welterweight champion Mysterious Billy Smith. In 1897, McCoy won the middleweight title vacated by Bob Fitzsimmons when he knocked out Dan Creedon in the 15th round.



McCoy often fought heavyweights and beat such notables as Joe Choynski and Peter Maher. But in 1900 he was knocked out in five rounds by James J. Corbett, the former heavyweight king. Then, in 1903, he challenged for the light heavyweight title but lost to champion Jack Root.



After leaving the ring, McCoy tried acting but didn't find the same success. He then began dating Theresa Mors, a wealthy antique dealer who happened to be married. Mors fell for McCoy and began divorce proceedings. As the proceedings dragged on, Theresa Mors was shot and killed in the apartment she shared with McCoy on August 12, 1924. McCoy was charged with the murder and was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 10 years in prison. In 1940, three years after he was released from jail, McCoy took an overdose of sleeping pills and died.

[QueensburyRules]

Nat Fleisher's #1 Rated Fighters (1958)

Heavyweight Jack Johnson
Light Heavyweight Charles Kid McCoy
Middleweight Stanley Ketchel
Welterweight Joe Walcott
Lightweight Joe Gans
Featherweight Terry McGovern
Bantamweight George Dixon
Flyweight Jimmy Wilde

I'd say the weirdest choice is "The Real McCoy". His career was one of legend however. He never won the Light Heavyweight title. In fact, he was a natural Middleweight and won the Middleweight title (although never defended it). However, he did happen to fight a lot of the top Heavyweights of his day. He defeated Joe Choynski, Gus Ruhlin and Peter Maher. He lost to Tom Sharkey and Jim Corbett, with the Corbett bout thought to being a fix. From my understanding, from that point on writers would question whether or not "the real McCoy" was showing up to fight.

I'd like to know more about the guy. I'd like to know why Fleisher rated him the greatest of a weight division he never did anything in... Actually, the one time he challenged for the LHW title, he was defeated handily. Very interesting...

- - Ahhh, back when ***** had yet to tarnish his shooting star, we have a 1958 Nat at the height of his Lord of the Bible of Boxing powers still stuck in his first dewey eyed impressions as a Kid Reporter.

Boxing history on the Half Shell as it were.

[Marchegiano]

Didn't ***** become a fighter or some such?

I used to be a member of sweetboxing and boxing asylum.